500 000

Last night my wife's family gathered to crowd into their suburban and drive 2 km to see the odometer go from 499 999 to 500 000. It was a majestic moment. Actually it was anti-climactic. But we all had ice cream cones, and that was fun. I am thinking about how to weave the photos and videos of the moment into Suburban Souls. Someday we will finish that.

Trip is Booked

I will officially be going to Toronto for the weekend of July 25, as the ineffable Jeremy Thompson will be getting married and it is my pleasure to stand with him as he does so. Plane tickets are always a dicey thing for me. I opted to use the whole of my Airmiles to go, which means I don't pay the fare, but the bill is still $170 something. I am pumped to use my Credit Union points, which cover everything. Minus a $25 booking fee (which was introduced after we decided to go with this option - lame!).

Now I just need to get through VBS prior to going. It would be nice to finish the fence as well. Here is a family picture. Note the hiding of the lip behind my daughter. A few more days and that should be all healed up, but of course family pictures have to happen when I am scabtastic.

Canoe Trip

This past weekend the males of my wife's family decided to take a little canoe trip down the mighty Red Deer river. We set out and enjoyed a nice current, stopping to walk across an abandoned train bridge and on an island to camp for the night. I have done the Emerson Bridge to Dinosaur Park trip many times, but this time we did the leg prior to that one, Finnegan Ferry to Emerson Bridge. Total trip = 38 kms. We learned this at our halfway point when a hovercraft (I know) stopped and used his fancy GPS to tell us how far he had been on the river. Day two, we set out and soon found ourselves paddling into a headwind. And then coming around certain bends where the directions were just right, and said wind turned into a wind-tunnel powered gale. The waves almost swamped us. Then we would finally make it to the end of that section, and it would calm and serene as the high banks of the river blocked the wind entirely. Downside = not putting sun block on my lips. I figured my wide-brimmed hat would protect me (it is a Tilley hat I found in a lake. It has a rip in the forehead, but I sealed that with duct tape. Is it wrong to claim the lifetime warranty on a ripped hat that I found in a lake?). But no, apparently the sun reflects just as strong off the muddy water onto my plump, supple lips as it would if I were laying on a deck with tin foil all around me. They have no completed the coup and pushed out three cold sores, so I look like some sort of crash victim... who absorbed the road rash with his lips. Until yesterday I was coating my whole bottom lip with the prescription medication I have, and then discovered that it dries out cold sores (which is good) but also dries out sunburn (which is really bad). So I am now following a two step approach which has grown to include polysporin. The lesson is, put duct tape over your lips as well as your hat when canoeing (I know it looks like it is spelled wrong, but it is not).

Yesterday was Canada Day in Rosemary, and we lasted a record low now that we have two children, or perhaps more so because one of our children is nearly 2, and sitting still is the butt. We went to a child's performance, where she promptly fell asleep (early for her nap), and then awoke (also too early) to showcase the cranky wonder that is an unrested toddler. My moo

d was also sour due to trauma lips, as discussed earlier. We retreated to my in-law's house at 3:30 and then went home after supper to have peace (sweet liberty of early bedtimes). Unfortunately, this peace was spent staining fence boards in our garage. To do: 330ish. Done: 0. Somewhat done: 50-60? We were working on them the night before as well, but our progress was somewhat halted by my wife dumping a pint of stained onto her back and down her pants. Fun times. Which is worse - have a stained back and rump or smelling like gasoline used to get it off?

My brother in law is in town this week, and he is a bit of a motorbike gourmet (buys and sells used bikes somewhat regularly in Saskatoon). He was telling me how dirt cheap it is to insure a bike (that is old and 400 cc or less) in Saskatchewan. I am unsure about how

different Alberta would be, but my wife went from "No" to "Maybe when we get a mini-van." I guess the uncoolness of the van will be offset by the coolness of a 30 year old motorbike. Fitting, since soon it will be a 30 year old riding it. 27 seems so much older than 26.

Congress!

This morning our front yard is no longer a hole! It is now a mud bog. Yesterday the backhoe guy was trying desperately to finish smoothing out the lawn, and a torrential downpour began, and everything he did just made it worse. He even got a sheep's paw packer stuck. Those are the big ride-on packing machines. I will try to post pictures so you can enjoy the magnificence of our lawn. Yesterday I sealed up our trap that was loose, and that should take care of the smell issue. My wife (aka hypernose) stills claims to detect a slight sewer smell, but no one else can. Perhaps I should stop farting around her.
Life is starting to feel normal again, what with being home again and all. Kate made the transition into a bed on the floor at Grandma's house, since she discovered she could climb out of the playpen she was sleeping in. We figured we should do the same at home, since we will need the crib soon for Tess. She is getting tired of the shoebox. Ho ho, actually she is in a cradle. I read the sleep bible, and they recommend 4 months as a good age of a younger sibling to transition the older one out of the crib. Tess is three months (crazy!) as of the 18th, so we may be a little premature, but since we have started the process, we are going to try to stick it out. One suggestion they made was to use the big bed as a reward, and go back into the crib if they get out of bed. We may try that if getting out continues to be a problem. We have a baby gate on the door to contain her (thus far it has worked) so she doesn't always end up sleeping in the bed. The other day my wife took a picture of her kneeling on the floor asleep with her head on the bed.

Today?

After a day of digging, nothing happened yesterday, and this morning looked to be the same. Then I talked to public works, and they said that the gas locate should happen this morning, and they will start as soon as it is done. And they figure they will be done by the end of the day. Which means tomorrow the plumber could come, and we could be back in our house for the weekend. Still would be much to do as far as back-fill and landscaping and whatnot, but that can happen after we are back in our house.

I have been trying to be aware of what I have been feeling during this whole process, and there have been moments of definite anxiety. The challenge has been to figure out where they are coming from. I hope to find a moment or two in the next couple days to do so. Last week I was preparing to preach about finding peace, and was reflecting on the areas in my own life that do not reflect peace. I came to a feeling that is hard to define, but that pops up often. The feeling that I am no good. It started when I saw via facebook that some youth had gone to a different youth group and had fun, and a little part of me felt rejected. I mean, logically I will tell you that I don't care where kids go, so long as they go somewhere. But in that moment I felt no good. So I focused on that. It took a little while, but eventually I started remembering places in growing up years where I felt the same way. Places where I had been rejected. I ended up at a early school memory of being in a group that was supposed to hold hands, and having some girls openly not want to hold my hand because I had warts. Hmmm. As I recount this, there is still a little sting there. Perhaps we will get to that again. As I focused on feeling that, I kept asking myself why did I feel that way? And deep down, what I came to believe about myself was that the reason they rejected me is because there must be something wrong with me. I can't describe how true that rang when I came to it. So I asked the Lord what His perspective was about that. And I heard Him say that He picked me. And He made me. And I felt peaceful. Everything calmed down (just now I focused again on that little bit that stings, and heard that I am exactly who I am supposed to be - peace feels good). I was reflecting later on feeling rejected, and how so much of my life is lived either in response to or to protect from rejection. Why do I not extend myself to strangers in new situations? Why do I seem aloof and withdrawn? Why am I slow to trust? Why do I avoid people in public if they don't openly acknowledge me? Because I fear rejection. I am curious how much more there is in me along that vein, but also if I will react differently to a situation after receiving truth in a place like that. One of the big challenges in doing this process on yourself is that I am very distractable, and part of me is more than happy to stop feeling what I don't like feeling.

Happening Fast, but also Too Slow

Today the hole was dug! Which means my conversation yesterday went well. But now we wait for the town to finish their half so that the plumber can tie in to existing work that is finished. Hopefully this all wraps up by the end of the week and doesn't end up costing way more than initial estimates. Our lawn is now a hole and a pile of dirt.

Vacation Update

Today is the day. Town guy is back at work, and I am going to call and see what he says about new line or having to dig up concrete. May I find favor! Since I haven't been home to work on anything there, I have been industrious in other ways. This week I reconciled the digital photo records on my laptop with our home computer, so I now have the complete collection. I must say, I like iPhoto. It makes for easy organization and whatnot. Also, I have relearned the art of wearing four shirts in rotation instead of my full collection. Kind of feels like living out of a suitcase. But that adds to the whole vacation idea. We heard the other day about a Sandals vacation in the Bahamas for $2900 that was regularly $10000. That doesn't include flights, so it is perhaps a little much for our budget, but Sandals is the cream of the crop, as far as I know. So, do we do the cheapest all inclusive we can find (the plan is to celebrate our fifth anniversary in March of 2010, which is a little late, but will be at the one year point of Tess, so she should be weaned at that point) or do we go for a five star resort and spend the budget for the rest of our lives? If it included flights, I would be tempted. But since the plan is to use our credit card points (current balance $1471.56) for the whole trip. I have heard of lots of people finding good deals and doing it for less (the best is two people for under $1000 for everything in a one week trip), so I think it is doable. My wife is drawn to luxury, since she (and I as well) hate the feeling of being disappointed by any part of a big trip that you look forward to.

Yesterday was the church picnic, and I was scheduled to preach, and we didn't want to bother with lugging out our old sound system. So I practiced my projecting voice, and some of those for whom hearing could be an issue said they heard me well, for the most part. At the end my voice broke, and they could hear much of that part, but what can you do when your voice breaks? I also didn't have a powerpoint projector, so it meant no slides. Help me remember to not use them as a crutch, which I think I must do a little bit. It is easy to make them the centre of attention rather than as an aide. Then we played the traditional baseball game, which was well enjoyed, even with the heat.

I think my daughter is adorable: